Trash Ecology is probably one of the most creative activities to teach ecology that I have seen! In this article, the students work through the different methods, concepts, and mathematics that a real ecologist would use. The general idea is that the students are brought out to an abandoned lot or beach, and is a hands-on representation of using ecological concepts of density, frequency, and biomass. Since this project involves using trash as your “species” and cleaning it up in the end, it even can be moved to be a community-volunteer event as well!
At the beginning, the students are told how to make quadrats in an open abandoned lot or beach. These are random one square meter plots in an area used to assess the environment. In the field, they then walk through and observe to find a good “species” of trash that they could study. Next, the students set up the quadrats along a transect line, counting all of the plants and trash in that area. Once the counting, collecting (for biomass) and area has been recorded, along with general observations of the area, the students then take their information back to be analyzed. Among the calculations, the students find the species density, species frequency, and biomass of their particular trash “species”. Overall, I found this to be a wonderful tool to teach students about how to solve each of these well-known methods in ecology.
Trash Ecology is probably one of the most creative activities to teach ecology that I have seen! In this article, the students work through the different methods, concepts, and mathematics that a real ecologist would use. The general idea is that the students are brought out to an abandoned lot or beach, and is a hands-on representation of using ecological concepts of density, frequency, and biomass. Since this project involves using trash as your “species” and cleaning it up in the end, it even can be moved to be a community-volunteer event as well!
At the beginning, the students are told how to make quadrats in an open abandoned lot or beach. These are random one square meter plots in an area used to assess the environment. In the field, they then walk through and observe to find a good “species” of trash that they could study. Next, the students set up the quadrats along a transect line, counting all of the plants and trash in that area. Once the counting, collecting (for biomass) and area has been recorded, along with general observations of the area, the students then take their information back to be analyzed. Among the calculations, the students find the species density, species frequency, and biomass of their particular trash “species”. Overall, I found this to be a wonderful tool to teach students about how to solve each of these well-known methods in ecology.
Lauren P.
Lind, G.J. (2004). Trash Ecology. The American Biology Teacher, 66(9), 613-619. Retrieved October 24, 2008 from
http://0-www.jstor.org.helin.uri.edu/stable/4451758